Ex-Im Bank helps Sandy-ravaged exporters

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

The U.S. Export-Import Bank has extended provisions to help exporters and financial institutions located in those portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast that have been declared federal disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy.
“We will do all we can to help those exporters in affected areas - especially small businesses – get back on their feet and resume exporting,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg, in a statement. “The last thing any business owner should have to worry about after a storm is the status of a loan or a claim-filing deadline.”
The bank is offering administrative relief measures to allow businesses and financial institutions that participate in Ex-Im Bank financing programs to return to their business concerns when appropriate and without penalty. “The bank provided similar measures during Hurricane Katrina and believe these same steps will help those business and banks that have suffered economic disruptions during Sandy,” Hochberg said.
The bank’s post-Sandy assistance measures include:

Offering automatic extension of loan terms and deadlines for filing claims for up to three months on working capital loan facilities maturing between Oct. 29 and Jan, 31.

Waiving program requirements for working capital loan facilities, with which parties cannot reasonably comply for up to three months.

Extending to Jan. 31 all claim-filing deadlines arising between Oct. 29 and Jan. 31 for its Multibuyer Insurance Program.

Automatically extending shipment reporting and premium payment deadlines to Jan. 31 for all shipments made during September and October 2012.

Providing flexibility in claims analysis and automatic policy renewal for policies that terminate between Oct. 29 and Jan. 31.

Automatically extending all claim-filing deadlines that arise between Oct. 29 and Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 for Medium-Term Guarantee Program.

The bank also offers Express Insurance and Global Credit Express programs to expedite matters to ensure small business exporters can access international markets in a timely manner. Ex-Im Bank said it will “continue to monitor the situation and will determine if any of the measures need to be extended.”